The Karnataka State Contractors’ Association president D. Kempanna has reiterated his demand for a probe into complaints of kickbacks and corruption in different departments of the Government.
Speaking to mediapersons here on Thursday. he repeated his charge that the officials in the State administrative machinery were seeking commission to the extent of 40% for awarding tenders and contracts and the scale of corruption had hit a new high since 2017.
‘No Govt. response’
Mr. Kempanna said though the issue was brought to the notice of the then Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa four times, there was no response from the Government.
He demanded an independent probe into his charges and wanted a retired judge of the High Court to inquire into the allegations to ascertain the truth. He claimed to have written to the PMO as well but said that it failed to evince any reply. The commission rates were 5% for various works awarded but the scale of corruption has increased, he added.
Mr. Kempanna said there were over 50,000 contractors in the State of which 17,000 were class I contractors. Besides, there were 296 contractors from other States and it was only in Karnataka that contractors from other States were given an opportunity to take up the works. He also alleged that the Government was not complying with the norms required for awarding tenders and claimed that there were sufficient documents to vouch for the allegations.
